MANCHESTER, IOWA – An Iowa teen who murdered his grandparents two years ago will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Isaiah Sweet, age 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Delaware county judge Michael Shubatt for the May 2012 murders of his grandparents, 62-year-old Janet Sweet and 55-year-old Richard Sweet. Autopsies of both persons concluded they were murdered by gunshots.
Judge Shubatt said that Sweet is “extremely dangerous”, that the murders were “cold-blooded” and that Sweet could not be rehabilitated, a requirement from the US Supreme Court for a life sentence for someone who commits a serious crime as a juvenile. Sweet’s lawyers argued for a reduced sentence since he was just 17 at the time of the crimes. Prosecutors introduced video-taped confessions from Sweet where he described his plans to shoot his grandparents because he felt they were too strict.
Sweet pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in October and had been awaiting sentencing. He was also assessed $305,793.24 in court fees and restitution.
Brandon Ahlers, of Manchester, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last year on two counts of aiding and abetting first-degree murder for his role in the murders.
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